CLASH OF THE PRO STOCK TITANS
Dave Connolly may not prefer housework chores, but he has taken a liking to sweeping.
The driver of Evan Knoll’s Torco Pro Stocker claimed his fourth victory
in a row and seventh of the 2007 season. Today’s victory raises his
personal number to 16 with another final round victory over Greg
Anderson.
"We were actually ready to do battle in our Chevy Cobalt,” Connolly
said. “Greg was having some problems over in the other lane and I don't
know exactly what it was but he was leaking fluid. Either way, the
whole team did an excellent job getting us through the first three
rounds. They did their part - we were low for the round in the first
two sessions and even in the semifinals we had to outrun Jason (Line)
because he strapped it on us. The driver was a little off his game
today - I'm a little under the weather and I didn't leave on anybody
all day.
Dave Connolly may not prefer housework chores, but he has taken a liking to sweeping.
The driver of Evan Knoll’s Torco Pro Stocker claimed his fourth victory
in a row and seventh of the 2007 season. Today’s victory raises his
personal number to 16 with another final round victory over Greg
Anderson.
"We were actually ready to do battle in our Chevy Cobalt,” Connolly
said. “Greg was having some problems over in the other lane and I don't
know exactly what it was but he was leaking fluid. Either way, the
whole team did an excellent job getting us through the first three
rounds. They did their part - we were low for the round in the first
two sessions and even in the semifinals we had to outrun Jason (Line)
because he strapped it on us. The driver was a little off his game
today - I'm a little under the weather and I didn't leave on anybody
all day.
Connolly said today’s success is easily traceable.
“It's all due to the great team we have that Victor (Cagnazzi) has put
together, Tommy Utt, all the guys, they're the ones that got me up
there in the finals and everything was solid on my car,” Connolly said.
“The Man upstairs is looking out for us right now. Things are clicking
for us. When things are going your way, it's good and we're going to
ride this wave for as long as we can. Drag racing is definitely a
humbling sport and you never know when it's going to change. Greg's
(Anderson) not happy about this at all because he had a good car all
weekend. It wasn't the way we wanted to win but we'll take it. I don't
think Evan Knoll and Latrell Preston care how we got the win as long as
the scoreboard light was blinking on our side.”
Connolly said this season has been a dream come true.
"This year all together has been remarkable,” Connolly said. “I've
never won back-to-back races before let alone four in a row, and seven
is a personal best for me in one season. But you know, two weeks in
Richmond is our sponsor's race and we want to go out with a big bang
there and maybe sweep this section of the Countdown. After that, it's
game on again. With the Countdown to the Championship everything gets
changed over again and the spread between Greg and myself will only be
10 points again. Our goal now is to keep my teammate Jeg Coughlin in
the Countdown but we have to do our homework, get his Chevy Cobalt
running a little bit better and we're try to do our job and win our
sponsor's race in Richmond.”
During the final round burnout, Anderson’s
Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO developed an oil leak and was shut
down. Meanwhile, Connolly had a free ride to the win light. Connolly
covered the Texas Motorplex quarter-mile in a slow 8.553-second pass.
“It developed an oil leak apparently,” said Anderson, following the
disappointing loss. “We’ll have to go back to the pit area and find
the source.
“I said before you can’t make a mistake in the Countdown. When you do
you’re going to lose, especially against a guy that has a hot hand like
(Dave) Connolly. The only saving grace of this mistake is that we’ve
already clinched a position in the final segment that runs for the
championship. We’ll wipe the slate clean when we get to Vegas and
start over. In those final two races of the Countdown you can’t make a
mistake or it’s over.”
With their final round appearances, both Connolly and Anderson clinched into the Countdown to One.